U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,540 discloses a handheld portable tool having two handles for enabling an operator to guide the tool with both hands. The forward handle is journalled on the motor housing in such a manner that it is pivotable to the left and to the right about the longitudinal axis of the tool. The rearward handle is fixedly connected to the motor housing and contains a throttle lever for controlling the rotational speed of the drive motor. Because of the pivotability of the forward handle, this handle can be displaced into different working positions in correspondence to work requirements such as horizontal and vertical cuts as well as enabling the operator to work with the tool at hip height or above the head.
However, it is a disadvantage in this known arrangement that the position of the actuating lever and switch are also displaced when displacing the handle so that a sensitive actuation of the throttle lever or a rapid actuation of the stop switch cannot be assured in all operating positions. Furthermore, the known arrangement has no definite work positions; instead, the arrangement can be displaced continuously over the entire pivot range. This means that the frictional force of the bearing of the handle cannot be too great since otherwise a displacement into another work position would not be possible. On the other hand, this can cause an unwanted displacement which cannot be avoided such as a displacement accompanying a larger load or a sudden change in torque.